


be around me

by miss_holly



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Video Blogging RPF, mcyt
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Beta Read, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Falling In Love, Fluff, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Jealous Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), M/M, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Pining, Protective Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Requited Love, Sharing a Bed, Touch-Starved GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-16 06:48:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28952184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miss_holly/pseuds/miss_holly
Summary: When George visits Dream for the first time, he definitely does not expect to have to pretend to be his boyfriend for the time he's staying. Considering he's had a crush on the guy ever since they started talking, this'll be easy.
Relationships: Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 253





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> the title is from be around me by will joseph cook and i'll probably base the fic on that song. i highly recommend it!

“Oh my goodness! You must be Clay’s boyfriend. I’ve heard so much about you!” The woman he’s never seen before pulled George in for a hug.

Wait, what?

_What?_

It took George a second to process what she had said. Millions of questions ran through his mind like a marathon.

_What the hell is she on about?_

_Why am I not telling her no?_

_Did Dream tell her we were dating?_

_Why does she think Dream is gay?_

_Dream talks about me?_

George hesitantly wrapped his arms around the shorter woman, keeping his hold loose and noncommittal. He wanted to pull away and say “No. Absolutely not.” and add a little lie at the end to make it more believable, “Would never”, but he was in such a state of dumbfoundedness that he could barely even register her words.

She pulled away and cupped George’s face. She astonishingly looked just like Dream. Her hair was a dark shade of blonde and her green eyes crinkled at the edges when she smiled. _Exactly_ like Dream.

It didn’t surprise George that he noticed little features like that about Dream in the short hour they’ve been together in person. He hasn’t been in love with him for the past five years of their friendship just to _not_ notice how his eyelashes flutter after he laughs really hard or how his cheeks become a slightly darker shade of green - he assumed it was actually red - after George says certain things or how Dream wore a deep blue shirt when he came to pick George up at the airport. That would be ridiculous.

“Uhm, Mom-” Dream tried to speak up, but got cut off.

“Come on, you two! Let’s get inside. I’m sure George is exhausted after flying for so long.” She grabbed George’s hand and led him inside the quaint house. He shot his friend a questionable glance, but Dream looked just as confused and flustered as George; perhaps even more.

Dream’s mother led them to what George assumed was the living room. It was spacious but cozy.

“Make yourself at home, George. I’ll be right back.” Dream’s mom announced. “Clay, be a good host.” She narrowed her eyes at her son before disappearing into the hallway.

George gently sat on the light brown couch and swivelled his head towards Dream with his mouth drawn open. “What the fuck was that?” He hissed.

Dream sat on the opposite couch and put his head in his hands. “I don’t know. I swear I didn’t tell her we were,” he paused, looking up at the wall behind George, “A thing.”

George furrowed his eyebrows. “Why does she think you’re gay?”

The silence that followed was deafening.

Dream had looked down at the floor, not daring to speak. George noticed how his leg started bouncing up and down and he started playing with his hands.

Oh.

_Oh._

“Dream-” George started to say softly, but Dream’s mother entered the room again.

“Sorry about that! Clay’s little sister is at her friend’s house for the night and I had to see if she arrived okay. She’s certainly missing out!” She made her way over to sit beside George. Her aura was brightening and her smile was even brighter. George didn’t think it was humanly possible to be that joyful.

“So,” she sighed happily, “How was the flight? Any turbulence?”

* * *

  
  


The three had talked for a while and George learned a lot about Dream. Probably too much, if he’s honest.

He learned that his father was on a business trip in another city in Florida that George couldn’t be bothered to remember, Dream had three imaginary friends when he was 6 and didn’t stop talking to them until he was 13 ( _“George, it really is not that funny.”_ ), his two other siblings lived all over the southeast of the U.S., and that Dream talked about George a _lot_. 

“God, he really does love you,” she laughed. “Every single time he comes over, he talks about what’s going on in your life or some code you two are working on. Don’t even get me started on the amount of jokes that you laugh at that he has to explain to me.”

George’s face flushed. 

“And honestly- Clay don’t interrupt me. I’m so, so happy he’s found someone he truly cares about and who seems to care about Clay just as much.” She took George’s hands into her own again and her face softened. This must’ve really meant a lot to her.

George’s eyes flickered between her and her son. Dream kept opening and closing his mouth as if he was trying to articulate how to break the news that no, they were sadly not dating.

George wanted to tell her for him just to get it over with, but she looked so happy. _It should be a crime to hurt this woman in any way_ , George thought.

What’s a couple of white lies going to do?

“Of course,” George finally spoke up. Dream sputtered. “I’m glad we - uh, found each other.” He looked over to Dream with a sheepish smile that George couldn’t tell was fake or not.

He saw color rise to Dream’s cheeks and George let out a small breath. 

_Guess we’re really doing this now_ , he thought.

He looked back to the woman sitting next to him and she immediately pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. This time, George hugged back.

“Thank you,” she whispered and pulled back, her smile still in place. She turned her head to Dream and chuckled. “I’ve probably embarrassed Clay to no end tonight. Sorry, honey,” she said half-heartedly. The apology was definitely nowhere near sincere.

* * *

George and Dream left later that evening. Dream’s mother begged and begged them to stay over, but Dream wouldn’t budge.

“Mom, seriously. George hasn’t even stepped foot into my house yet,” Dream complained.

George stuffed his hands in his jeans as he waited on the porch next to his friend. He swayed side to side, getting impatient. George didn’t care where he had to stay. His 13 hour flight was catching up to him and was catching up to him fast.

“Ugh. Fine. But everyone’s coming down tomorrow and they’re going to want to meet George, so be here.” George’s breath hitched. He had to meet Dream’s siblings? And act like his boyfriend for even longer?

“Oh. God, I forgot about that. Uh, yeah. We’ll be here. Promise.” That seemed to satisfy his mother, because she pulled Dream into a hug and kissed his cheek and did the same to George.

“Be careful driving home,” she said sternly.

After waving their final goodbyes, Dream and George got in the car and sat in silence for a couple minutes. Dream started the car and pulled out of the driveway.

* * *

George would have rather died than had to have to go through the drive to Dream’s house. It was horrible. Neither of them talked, the tension in the air was thick, and Dream didn’t even bother to turn music on to drown out the silence. George swore he was torturing him on purpose for lying to his mom.

The car pulled into a parking lot in front of an apartment complex. An actual house was nowhere in sight.

“You’re a millionaire and you don’t have a house.” George scoffed playfully. Those being the first words either of them spoke for about 15 minutes probably didn’t make anything better, but at least Dream laughed.

“I’m not a millionaire.”

“Bullshit. You totally are!” George looked to his left with an exasperated expression.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” Dream chuckled. “Let’s go inside. Patches is very excited to meet you.”

“Really? Did she tell you that herself?” They both got out of the car and slammed the doors behind them.

“Duh.” Dream rolled his eyes as he walked back to the trunk of his car to help George with his suitcases.

Everything was fine.

Nothing was wrong.

It wasn’t awkward and it didn’t have to be.

* * *

George had smiled in contentment at his thoughts when he was in the parking lot, but had definitely psyched himself out when the two men got up to the apartment and sat on the couch. George cursed himself for jinxing it.

“So,” Dream started slowly.

“Yes?” George asked expectantly, looking down at the cat in his lap. He wanted to distract himself from the conversation that was about to come. Unlike Sapnap, who visited a couple of months earlier, Patches had warmed up to him quickly. George started scratching her head as he looked back up at the apartment around him.

Dream’s apartment was _really_ nice. It was nicer than George’s entire house. It was all open-plan, the kitchen was sleek, the living room was a comfortable size, and George loved every bit of it.

He thought that an apartment like his would just look like any other expensive place owned by a rich asshole, but Dream’s personality was in every nook and cranny.

Fanart was everywhere, pictures of him and his family in picture frames were scattered around, a little sign that said “A Spoiled Cat Lives Here” hung on the wall beside the front door, and there were about four cat trees in just the living room alone. George adored it.

“We’re gonna have to,” Dream paused, “Make it believable to my family that we’re- um.”

“Dating.” George looked up at him and Patches jumped out of his arms as if to distance herself from the awkward tension building up.

“Dating. Yes. God, I’m so sorry I brought you into this. Your trip is already going so fucking wrong.” Dream frowned and his eyebrows crinkled. His hands were shaking and he looked overall very anxious.

“Dream.” George turned his entire body towards his friend. “Everything’s fine. If I wasn’t fine with this, I wouldn’t have told her we were dating.”

Dream let out a breath and nodded, also turning his body to George.

“Besides, she looked like she would collapse of a heart attack if she actually knew.”

Dream chuckled and smiled softly down at the couch’s cushions. “You’re right about that. She loves you.”

George grinned to himself.

“Don’t let that go to your already overloaded ego, though.” He looked up at George. “My mom loves everyone.” George rolled his eyes dramatically and leaned back on the couch before stretching his legs out to kick Dream’s side.

“Ow! What the hell?” Dream yelled in between laughs.

“So, how are we gonna make this believable?” George asked, ignoring Dream’s cries.

“You’re so annoying.” Dream tucked his legs in and shimmied down into the sofa to get comfortable. “No idea. Hold hands?”

As innocent as it was, the idea alone made George’s stomach churn. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea.

George nodded anyways.

“This’ll be easy then!” Dream exclaimed and threw his hands up in the air shortly as if their mission was anything but weird. George giggled.

“You’re such an idiot, Dream.” George shook his head and tilted his head up at the ceiling.

“Call me Clay, stupid.” Dream lifted his legs and placed them right on top of George’s.

“You’re such an idiot, _Clay_ ,” he corrected and tilted his head back up a little. George loved saying Dream’s name. 

“Whatever.” Dream’s tone sounded cold, but his expression said otherwise. “And can you at least give me a _little_ space on _my_ couch?”

* * *

They had fucked around for a couple of hours and George totally forgot about how tired he was. It was when they were side-by-side watching a dumb romcom to make fun of that George remembered.

He made a sound of discomfort and dropped his head on the back of the couch. It was super uncomfortable, but he didn’t really give a shit. The man just wanted to sleep.

“George?” Dream questioned softly. George grunted.

Dream scoffed and the TV suddenly switched off.

“Let’s get you to bed.” George silently thanked himself for changing into pajamas after he settled into the apartment. There was no way George could move at his own will.

“You wanna sleep on the couch?” Clay’s voice was faint as George slipped in and out of consciousness. George grunted again. “You’re not being very helpful.”

George felt himself being laid down gently on his side. A pillow supported his head and he felt a blanket being draped over him.

“Goodnight, George,” he heard. Something pushed locks of hair out of his face and George smiled to himself. Even slightly unconscious, George could feel the butterflies flying around in his stomach.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream and George go back to Dream's Mom's house and George gets to meet his siblings :D

George was utterly fucked.

It was bad enough having to pretend to be the Dream’s boyfriend, but doing that with a sore back was George’s personal Hell.

“You’re being such a baby.” It was around noon and the two men were on their way to the house they had visited yesterday.

“No, I’m _not_ ,” George whined, clattering his head on the window. “Ow.”

Dream wheezed at George’s anguish, which made the latter only cry about it more.

“I cannot _believe_ you left me on the couch. Your mum told you not to be a shit host and _yet_ !” George woke up that morning delirious and scared, not having any idea where he was or why his back was hurting so much. His first thought was ‘ _Oh my God I got kidnapped_ ’, but his nerves were soothed when he whipped his head around to see Dream scrolling on his phone on the chair beside him.

“You basically passed out,” Dream said. George turned his attention to the other male, who was keeping his eyes on the road. “There was no way I was going to drag your ass all the way to the guest room.”

“ _Wah! Wah!_ That’s exactly what you sound like.” George crossed his arms and furrowed his eyebrows for a finishing touch. Dream looked back and forth between George and the road sporting a shit-eating grin. George gave up.

“ _Ugh_. You did this to me on purpose,” George accused and pushed his head back on the headrest. He could hear Dream snickering from beside him, but decided to not give the man any more attention. It was a couple of minutes before either of them spoke.

“You know,” Dream’s voice softened, “I’m really glad you’re here.”

He had said it quietly as if saying it any louder would make a tear in the very fabric of the universe, but they were still sitting in Dream’s overly expensive car, basking in the silence.

George uncrossed his arms and chose to admire Dream from the passenger’s seat. He’d sent George a picture of his face about a minute before the plane landed the day before just so George knew who to look for, and it took everything in him not to scream how pretty he was at the top of his lungs. He looked even better right in front of George’s eyes. His hands were placed loosely on the wheel and his posture was relaxed. The only thing that was off about him was how clenched his jaw was, making his jawline more prominent. George wasn’t complaining.

He watched his eyelashes flutter and George’s chest tightened. Even if they chose to not go through with this, George was just happy to finally be with his best friend. 

“I am too.”

* * *

The car pulled into the driveway and George spotted two cars he hadn’t seen before. Dream parked and turned off the engine. The motor gradually stopped rumbling and it felt like letting the water out of the bathtub after pulling the drain. George knew what was coming.

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

He’d considered his options on the way down there. In fact, he secretly made a pros and cons list on his phone. There were definitely more cons than pros, which made George almost say no, but what if he let himself be selfish just this one time?

“Of course.”

“Are you sure?”

“ _Yes_ , Dream-”

“Clay,” Dream corrected.

“ _Clay_.”

“No homo?”

George wanted to say multiple things to that. He wanted to say, “ _Yes homo. Full homo. Let’s do this in the most homosexual way and live happily ever after_ ,” because George was gay. He was totally, irrevocably gay.

But he was also totally, irrevocably in the closet.

So, he instead laughed and said, “No homo.”

It’s not like he wanted to keep it a secret from Dream, but it was _so fucking scary_ . Somehow, it was even more unnerving knowing that Dream wasn’t straight either. One reason being that George wasn’t supposed to know this information and the other reason being that there was at least a _chance_ of Dream having mutual feelings.

And it hurt worse knowing that it was _possible_ for Dream to love him back since he wasn’t straight, but he just _doesn’t_ . Not the way that George loves him. George loves him in a way that is overflowing, he loves him in a way that is addicting. He loves him in a way that he’d give up anything just to _be_ with Dream. He’d do _anything_ for him.

He loves him in a way that makes him agree to be Dream’s fake lover, even though it’s going to be the worst pain George is ever going to feel.

* * *

“Hello, you two!” Dream’s mom hastily pulls the two men inside. “Everyone is so excited to meet you, George!”

George grins at her as he slips his shoes off. “I’m excited to meet them too.”

After Dream kicks his _Nikes_ off, George offers his hand, giving him a look that says “ _We can do this._ ”

That seems to calm Dream as his face softens and links their fingers together. It burns to the touch and George feels high. His heart rate is accumulating speed and he can feel his feet start to pick up off of the ground.

Dream leads them out of the entryway and George floats behind him. Dream’s hand is sweaty, but George doesn’t give a single shit. He revels in the mystical warmth spreading around his body. George never wants to let go.

They arrive in the living room and George’s feet plant themselves back on the floor. He takes in a deep breath and exhales slowly. Showtime.

George could see three people within the vicinity. One girl is sitting on the floor by the coffee table, another is sitting on the long couch behind her watching TV, and one guy is sitting in the dining room adjacent to the living room.

“They’re here!” Dream’s mom announced. Every head in the area turns to look at the three of them and George finally realizes the severity of the situation he’s in.

He’s going to have to introduce himself as Dream’s boyfriend. Lover, significant other, partner, Dream’s other half, his soulmate.

George automatically steps closer to Dream and the latter squeezes his hand.

“Well, don’t just look at us.”

Leave it to Dream to break the tension in a room.

The heads turn all smiles and get up from where they’re sitting to greet the fake lovebirds. Their faces were all similar to each other and Dream’s. Same eyes, same nose, same hair color, etc.

A younger girl walks up to George first with a suspicious look.

“You’re shorter than I thought you would be.”

Goddammit.

“ _Anna!_ ” A cluster of voices scold the young teenager, who George now knows as Anna.

“What? I was kidding!” Anna twirls around to look at her siblings and mom. None of them looked amused.

George was keen to defuse the situation. After all, George thought it was fucking hilarious.

“No, no! She’s alright! I promise. I actually thought it was funny.” Anna looks back up at him and beams. George was then pulled down to the coffee table where Anna sat before, being separated from Dream in the process. His hand feels cold.

“ _I like him_ ,” she whisper-yells to Dream, who ends up settling across from them. She still had a hold onto George’s arm and he chuckled.

“Yeah, because he got you out of trouble, stupid. Also, it’s _rude_ to grab someone without their permission.”

“Clay, don’t call your little sister stupid,” their mom sighed, “Anyways, you all get to know each other. I’ll go make lunch.” And with that, Dream’s mom left the living room and the other two sat on the couch behind Dream. So far, so good.

* * *

Dream’s two older siblings (George learned their names were Andrew and Chloe) were incredibly fun to talk to. They both had the same humor as Dream and, in turn, had the same humor as George. The five of them talked and laughed nonstop until their mother declared that lunch was ready.

All of them retreated to the backyard patio to where a long table occupied. Andrew, Anna, and their mom set the table before all six of them sat down to eat, George sitting in between Anna and Dream. He was grateful the patio was shaded and mentally added ‘Florida Heat’ to the ongoing list of things that make up George’s personal Hell.

“I’m so sorry my husband couldn’t make it, George,” Dream’s mom apologized, “Chloe, can you pass the salt, please? He really wanted to meet you.”

George piled salad on his plate and says, “Oh, it’s okay! Tell him I said hi.” He put the salad tongs back in the white bowl and smiled at her apologetically.

“Well, I guess you’ll have to come back soon.” She winked, hinting at some seriousness in her statement.

Sheepishly, he looked back down at his plate.

* * *

  
  


As everyone finished their food, George thanked whatever God let him and Dream not have to act couply or answer personal questions, for if they had, George would be six feet under.

George got along well with Dream’s family. They were kind, slightly outgoing people who did most of the talking. No awkward pauses, no misinterpreted jokes. It went smoothly.

They were laughing at something that Anna said when Andrew spoke up, “George.”

George hummed, leaning back in the patio chair, which was surprisingly comfortable.

“Me ‘nd Chloe are staying for the rest of the week before heading back to classes. We were gonna do some fun shit-”

“ _Andrew_ ,” his mom scolded. Andrew raised his hands in defense and apologized fast before continuing.

“And we wanted to know if you ‘nd Clay wanted t’join us. Mom and Anna might come too.”

George looked at Dream for guidance, wondering if this was the best thing to do. He knew it would be fun, but this whole situation was only supposed to be a couple-of-hours type thing.

Dream shrugged in response. Useless.

“I’m down. Only if George wants to go.”

George wanted to consider his options. He wanted to make a pros and cons list and think this through like he normally did.

But this trip wasn’t normal.

Fuck it.

“Sure.”

* * *

Midday went by fast and they headed back inside after cleaning up a little. Chloe put on a movie for background noise and sat down beside George on the couch. His anxiety spiked since Dream had gone to help his mom with dishes. He hadn’t been with the siblings alone before.

George obviously had nothing to worry about since Chloe guided the conversation. She talked about school, George talked about YouTube and streaming, and they went back and forth like that until Dream came back.

“Stealing my boyfriend, Chloe?” Dream flopped on the couch beside them and George’s face heated up. That was the first time either of them said something like _that_ and George didn’t know how to feel.

Chloe glared. “I appreciate your concern, Clay, but no. We were talking about how annoying you are.” She reached up and tied her long hair into a ponytail.

Dream chuckle and nudged George’s arm. “Yeah, right.”

“ _Actually_ , they were talking about you two spending the night.” Anna piped up from the other couch opposite of them. It was true. Chloe was trying to convince George to stay over and the latter kept giving vague replies like ‘I don’t know’ and ‘I’ll think about it’, trying to give Dream the responsibility of giving her a direct answer. He was aiming for ‘No’.

“Come _on_ ,” Anna prolonged, “It’ll be so much easier and we won’t have to wait for you two to get here. I wanna get to Disney World early.”

A familiar sound of complaints rose among the young adults as Anna slapped a hand over her own mouth. George screwed his face in confusion as he looked around at all the faces in the living room.

“Well it was supposed to be a surprise, but I guess we’ll tell you now,” Chloe groaned. George could hear a small sorry come out of Anna and Andrew telling her it was alright while patting her back. “We’re going to Disney tomorrow. Only if you wanna come, of course.”

George suddenly felt giddy and he broke out into a smile. “I’ve never been to Disney before!” He clasped his hands together, trying to contain his embarrassing excitement.

“ _What_? You never told me that.” George turned his head to look at his ‘boyfriend’.

“Didn’t feel like I needed to.”

“It’s kind of overrated,” Andrew stated. A fit of ‘boos’ attacked Andrew and he threw his hands in the air. “We’ve went there like a million times, I’m _sorry_.” 

George giggled and Chloe spoke up again. “Don’t listen to him. Wha’dya say?”

George didn’t even bother thinking about it. He just nodded and the pack of siblings lightly applauded at their accomplishment.

* * *

  
  


Eventually, dinner was ordered and eaten and George’s stomach was certainly pleased. Dream’s mom promptly told Anna to get ready for bed and her two siblings retreated to their childhood bedrooms as well. Dream casually grabbed George’s hand as if they’ve done it a million times. It made George’s head almost explode and the veins in his arms tingle, but _fuck_ it felt good.

Dream bid his mom a goodnight, George faintly following suit. He was tugged down the hallway and it was _thrilling_. Fantasies that have travelled into his mind before made their way into George’s clouded thoughts and he shamefully shook his head to get rid of them. He can’t just think about those things with Dream being right fucking there.

Dream, without letting go of George’s now-damp hand, opened the door. He turned the light on, causing George to swear and squint his eyes in distress.

Once his eyes adjusted to the light, he scanned the room. It was a pretty good-sized bedroom for a teenager. Posters littered the walls, shelves were stocked with trophies that had golden footballs and football players on them, a jersey was encased in a frame and hung above a desk, and a full-sized bed was tucked away in the corner.

“You’re such a nerd,” George huffs. Dream lets go of George’s hand and carelessly pushes him, his face painted with fake-hurt. George raises an eyebrow. “And a cry-baby.”

“Oh, come on,” he mumbles, “You’re taking the floor.”

Dream bounces away and jumps into the thick, blue comforter and George runs after him.

“Absolutely not! My stupid back has hurt all day!” He clambers onto the bed and elbows Dream against the wall. Dream grunts and fights back, almost knocking George off the bed. He screeches as his life flashes before his eyes, but Dream pulls him back from falling about 2 feet.

“You’re so stupid!” Dream wheezes and George lifts his legs to kick him. The other doubles over, holding his stomach, still cackling. George rolls his eyes.

“Give me pajamas.”

“Pfft. Okay, _your highness_ .” Dream lifts his hands up and jumps out of bed to his closet. “Not much in here. There’s _Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle_ pants if you want those.”

“Hand them over,” George demands, and the pants are thrown onto George’s head. He grabs them and gets out of bed before dashing to the bathroom to change. They fit loosely, but he’ll deal. He comes back to see Dream already in bed with _Simpsons_ pajama pants of his own, scrolling on his phone.

“Those are so ugly,” George comments, startling Dream.

“You’re annoying. Just get in bed.”

“What? Oh.” George stops in his tracks.

“Oh, fuck. Unless you’re uncomfortable with that. That’s alright! I can sleep on the floor,” he starts getting out of bed, “My mom just outed me- well, I guess she thinks that you’re my boyfriend so technically it’s _my_ fau-“

“We can sleep in the same bed, Dream.”

George says it as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world and grips Dream’s shoulder. It kind of _is_ obvious. “It’s like a sleepover.”

Except it’s a sleepover with the guy you’re in love with, but George tries not to think about that.

Dream closes his eyes and sighs in relief. “Okay. Thank you.”

They settle into bed, Dream by the wall and George on the edge. The two wordlessly have a mutual agreement to not face each other while they’re in the bed. They have their backs to each other and George puts his phone on the nightstand. He tries to steady his breath, but the circumstances aren’t exactly making it easy. They have about two inches of space between them and George can feel the other’s body heat radiating off of him. He wants to lean into it, dissolve in it, but he doesn’t. Instead, he reaches his hand out to turn off the lamp and they’re left alone in the dark.

“Goodnight, Clay.”

Silence. Hesitance.

“Goodnight, George.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for all the kudos already :') ur all lovely

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so, so much for reading!!!!! kudos and comments are very much appreciated! :)
> 
> twitter: starrykei


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